I have never been to New England and I'm so excited to finally visit my sister in Amherst. I'll be spending a couple of solo days in Boston too. Tell me everything! I'm coming on Halloween for about a week.

_________________No. No. fork life allatimes. - mumblesThat commercial didn't make me want to go out and buy Dove, but this thread did make me sniff my armpits. They smell like apricot. - designedtobekind

I booked my flight! I'm missing VegFest though. :( I fly into Boston on Oct 30th in the evening and will be spending two nights there at a hotel, hostel, or air b&b (suggestions?!). Then I'm bussing to Amherst on the 1st and flying home from Boston on the 4th.

Does anyone have hotel recommendations? My sister and I might stay on the 30th and 31st in downtown Boston. The hostels are only a tiny bit cheaper than the hotels. what the fizzle? Does that mean the hostels are amazing or the hotels are awful?

If you really want to do something Halloweeny, you should take the train to Salem.

_________________No. No. fork life allatimes. - mumblesThat commercial didn't make me want to go out and buy Dove, but this thread did make me sniff my armpits. They smell like apricot. - designedtobekind

Copley Square is a great spot. You'll be right by Newbury Street, which is well known for having lots of cool (though often pricey) shops. Check out Johnny Cupcakes, which looks and smells like a bakery but sells cupcake-themed T-shirts! The Boston Public Library is beautiful inside and right on the square. The Prudential Mall nearby has a Sephora if you like seeking out hard to find vegan-friendly makeup. A couple blocks down there are two big parks, the Boston Public Garden and Boston Common, definitely worth wandering around and admiring. If you like dorky tourist things (I do!) you might try to get on one of the duck tours, which board right by the mall.

Walkable food suggestions:- My Thai Vegan Cafe in Chinatown, a cheap sit down restaurant- Boloco (couple locations near you), fast food burritos with tofu and smoothies. Order online if you can, or at least use their touch-screen menus, so you can see all the options they don't list on the big signs.- Addis Red Sea on Tremont Street. Ethiopian sit-down restaurant where all the vegetarian meals are vegan. The combos are a great deal.

Near subway stops food suggestions:- Veggie Galaxy, in Cambridge (get there via red line, Central stop). All vegetarian diner w/all vegan desserts, and nearly everything can be made vegan. I recommend the fried tofu dinner (which is like fish & chips) and the club sandwich, and the lemon meringue pie.- Middle East, in Cambridge (a block or two away from Veggie Galaxy). Middle Eastern food (obviously), very veggie friendly. Get the whipped garlic!

Others a bit further away (many you can get to by bus or just walk a bit longer from the subway):- "vegan corner" in Allston, where you can find Root (vegan cafe), FoMu (vegan ice cream w/ DONUT SUNDAES) and Grasshopper (vegan Chinese/Vietnamese)- True Bistro (fancy vegan food)- Walnut Grille (fancy vegetarian food)

Hope we can plan a meetup one of those days! I'll poke some people on Facebook to come look at this thread.

_________________"I feel like it's not a real political discussion if I'm not morally opposed to something I don't understand." - ndpittman

OH MY GOODNESS! I want to meet you if possible. I'll PM my number if you have time to meet up!

_________________I would eat Dr. Cow pocket cheese in a second. I would eat it if you hid it under your hat, or in your backpack, but not if it was in your shoe. That's where I draw the line. -allularpunk

I have time! I would love to meet up! I get in on the 30th and have the whole 31st free except for if my sister makes me go out for Halloween with her when she joins me at the hotel (her flights aren't until the evening though).

I assume you people have mon-fri-type normal jobs and stuff but if not...I would love to hang out on the 31st! We will leave sometime on the 1st for Amherst and probably stay there until the 4th.

Thanks for the awesome tips and responses! I just assumed Boston hated me when no one responded at first. But then I looked in your other threads in the square and just came to the conclusion that you all hate each other. Just kidding. I guess Boston is just so rad that you have better things to do than talk about it. :)

aw, vijita! i love it in western mass! you're going to have so much fun!

I think Butterfly in Hadley is closed :( We went there last weekend and it wasn't open and the next day they had a different name. I'm not sure if they still have veggie options or not! I was super sad.

_________________I am not a troll. I am TELLING YOU THE ******GOD'S TRUTH****** AND YOU JUST DON'T WANT THE HEAR IT DO YOU?

Yea!! I work 9-5 in Copley Square, and don't do much else of late. This is so exciting!

_________________I would eat Dr. Cow pocket cheese in a second. I would eat it if you hid it under your hat, or in your backpack, but not if it was in your shoe. That's where I draw the line. -allularpunk

I think Butterfly in Hadley is closed :( We went there last weekend and it wasn't open and the next day they had a different name. I'm not sure if they still have veggie options or not! I was super sad.

Nooo! I have the best college memories of ordering massive amount of chinese food from there. Once my boyfriend and I ate there and they made us a vegan sushi "love boat."

So far my best options are anytime on the 31st of Oct. NDP and I have tentative plans to meet up after she is done work on the 31st. I think I'll be in Boston for most of the 1st as well, and the evening of the 30th. I have no idea what I'll be doing in Amherst. I can stare at maps until I'm blue in the face but it just looks like an awful lot of small towns making up much bigger towns. I guess I should be used to that from living in England but everywhere I've lived in Canada seems to be ridiculously far removed from neighbouring towns, and don't even think about public transportation working out for you without a plan and lots of money. In Western Mass everything looks so close together! Somewhat confusingly so. I'm excited!

_________________I would eat Dr. Cow pocket cheese in a second. I would eat it if you hid it under your hat, or in your backpack, but not if it was in your shoe. That's where I draw the line. -allularpunk